Day 153, New Year's Day

Having stayed up late, sleeping in was not a problem for any of us.  I was awake by 7:30am, but stayed in bed until I heard others stirring.  The plan was for us all to go over to the folks house for breakfast and Christmas round II, with my brother's family.

By 9:30am we were at my folks house and the kids were anxious to open their stocking from Santa.  Of course Santa had left them there Christmas Eve night and Grandma and Grandpa had just been saving them.


Natalie and the horses



After a good breakfast with farm fresh eggs, we were ready open gifts.  My niece and nephew opened theirs in a flash and had wide eyes.  My niece had seen Star Wars a while ago and fell in love the Ewaks.  I was able to find her a vintage (1983) Ewak stuffed animal on eBay in new condition - she loved it.  My nephew also got a Star Wars stuff, including light-saber, action figure and star fighter.  They seemed to be happy and should be content for hours.  I got something vintage too, vintage egg cartons!  They were way too cool and will be fun to have around.

After opening gifts, I think we all needed a nap.  I needed to run to Lowe's again, and exchange my fathers garage door key pad for one that was not defective -  my brother went with me.  I couldn't help but notice all the Christmas items had been moved to Clearance and were an additional 80% off.  I bought two 60" pre-lit Christmas wreaths for $8!  At that price I couldn't afford not to buy them.



Evan and Dad on the pond.


Back home we took the kids outside to play.  The high was about 19, but kids have tons of energy and they didn't seem to mind the cold.  Natalie went straight for the horses and Evan wanted to check out the frozen pond, with a little help from dad.  I think they decided that farm life isn't all that bad and that Uncle Eric's house is pretty fun.

The Chickens were running all over the yard enjoying their freedom, yet freezing their feet.  They kept stopping and pulling one leg up to get them warm.  Even the rooster was a bit cold and he was very happy to have me hold him and get keep his feet warm in my hand.

We all headed back over to my folks house, for yet another and the last big meal of the Holidays.  I think we all agreed that the next week was going to be nothing but steamed vegetables.

To end the evening we all went out into the Potting Shed and we lit a fire in the pot bellied stove.  With the outside temp near 15, the little stove worked hard to keep the cozy space warm.    It was a fun way to end the holiday season.